Bermuda sailors Jesse and Zander Kirkland believe they need a full-time coach to help them become more competitive on the world stage.The brothers flipped their boat on day one of the ISAF World Cup in Palma and struggled for speed and consistency, finishing 54th out of 69 boats last week.Despite their “disappointing” performance they remain optimistic of reversing their fortunes when they race in Hyeres, France, later this month. But they admit their sailing education is being slightly stunted by the lack of a regular coach.“It was a disappointing finish at first glance, especially after all the work we have put in recently, but we remain confident we can become a competitive team on the world stage by next year,” said Zander.“We did flip on day one in the breeze and we have many manoeuvres to smooth out, but the obstacles are manageable and the priority for our next chapter in the boat is speed. Our speed is good at times and improving, but it is not consistent enough at this level.”A shortage of funds prevents the Kirklands from hiring a full-time coach to help them make the all-important subtle gains with the pair relying on “random regatta” coaches for assistance. That less than ideal arrangement leaves the pair at a distinct disadvantage over their rivals, who they are competing against to qualify for next year’s London Olympic Games.“For us to make strides against this constantly moving bar, we need to accelerate our learning. We need some coaching and not just random regatta coaches but someone who can consistently stay with us and help us develop some consistent world-class speed,” said Zander.“In a perfect world, we would have a private coach like many of our competitors but it’s just not a financial reality at present. Until we can afford a coach, we will be working with our training partners. The level where we are and where we want to be is getting smaller but these subtle gains can be the hardest to get and that is why we need help now.”It has been a busy year already for the Kirklands, who recently finished 18th out of 29 boats in the Rolex Miami OCR in Biscayne Bay, Florida, before heading to Spain.Their race schedule continues to be littered with events with Holland and England on the summer calendar after France.“Tactically, for Hyeres, we are going to try and sail more disciplined on the track,” Zander said.“We want to control the things we can manage and avoid taking as many flyers when we get frustrated with our speed.“All in all, it is great that we have another event in two weeks and we can hopefully apply all that we have learned here in such a short time.“In the training, we will continue to refine our manoeuvres, boat set up and look out for a coach.”